The very next day, I went to the Swifthunts to announce the addition of over a dozen new knights in the county. "I am pleased to inform you that many young knights are ready to enter the heroic service of protecting the county of Greene. It would even be our honor should you decide that you would like them to serve your noble family directly." I said. Anthony was there with his parents. "Having a dozen heathens in my direct employ!? I think that would not be possible." the count said with that signature wry grin of his. He was amused, but he was not having it today. I just shrugged my shoulder. "That is fine with us. We can operate freely. Having over a dozen centaurs is probably a bit better than having a company of cavalry troops. It's not like your family was known for it's martial prowess on horseback. Or at all." I said. The 3 of them frowned at me. "Is there a point to your yowling?" Jeffery said with a sigh. I nodded my head. "We have the favor of the king, but that can change as other nobles make their own saunas to entice him. We rule here in his stead. We need some forces."
Anthony sucked his teeth. "Having the retinue of honor guard knights we have costs money. Having enough men to form an army will take a fortune. We don't have that amount of gold. We barely have enough commoners and laborers here to even think of training their sons." he said. That was true. We were only barely established here in the area. "Well, that is something that we can do. As the founders of Huntston and Mansfield, we can be the ones that create culture. The founding stock of Huntston are mercenary companies. It probably would not be a stretch to make a decree that we can make the populace more inclined towards martial prowess. For example, we grant all subjects the right to be armed and train from a young age. With meritocracy being a philosophy that the most capable should rise, at least some commoners will be good enough to become good military commanders for us. I am also a phantom thief from another world, as you know. We can increase the level of intelligence for civil service by making sure as many people as possible can read and do maths."
With the leave of the Swifthunts, I was able to use some of my hoard to have a one story building for a school. Lyari was with me as a tutor. My children were all past the stage where they needed him. He became a teacher of both Common and Elvish there. I was going to teach mathematics. I could teach them basic operations, algebra and trigonometry. I learned that they did not have the philosophy of math to do things that were common for me. It was ground breaking for them to learn about zero and negative numbers. I had students of every age from 5 to 50. I did not send anyone away that wanted to learn. In the meantime, Betan and Alane also taught physical education at the school. Betan was more of a hands on kind of teacher. Alane focused more on the basics and the demonstration of skills. Grissell was also a teacher of art. Not a lot of people wanted to be taught by a woman. I put them to shame by forcing them at knife point to do a sketch better than her. None of them could. She was a great artist. The court chaplain came in to teach the religion. It was a great effort.
